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John Solomon
Good evening America and welcome to the latest edition of Just the News. No Noise. I'm your host John Solomon, reporting to you from the nation's capital. We've got a very special conversation to go and my staff is going to get my script exactly right. In a second. I'm going to tell you all about it. We are going to dive into a single issue today. Before we do, a couple quick headlines. Hillary Clinton just finished a press conference. You've been watching that on live tv. She testified for a while, said she didn't know anything about Jeffrey Epstein. Bill will tell you about it tomorrow. That was basically the gist of her story today. But it significant moment. We have all the coverage over justinnews.com and we'll be doing that all day. But tonight we're going to take a break from the breaking news headlines and do a deep dive on a single subject. You probably never thought about it. It's a metal called tin plate, but you use it every day in your kitchen and at your dinner table every time you open a soup can or can of vegetables. That can is most likely made of tin plate. And for decades, we made that metal right here in the United States. And today we still make the cans right here in the heartland of the usa, places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. But because of unfair foreign competition and regulation in America, we don't make much of the template anymore that has left our country at the mercy of foreign suppliers. Now, last year when President Trump came to office, he tried to right the ship for America's steel industry, imposed 50% tariffs on foreign steel, up from their prior 25%. And that has begun to reinvigorate the once mighty steel machine that was here in the United States. But there's still a short term hiccup. It takes a few years to restart template operations. America, that's something you can turn on overnight. And that hasn't even got started. So those factories making the cans are now paying a whole lot more for their foreign supplies, hundreds of millions of dollars, in fact. And that has begun to put pressure on American farmers who are being asked to absorb some of those costs and consumers. Last night I heard from a mom in Florida who said her grocery bill for canned goods has been going up. She's not alone. You heard that, Remember? It was a pretty good interview last night. A recent study from the All Paul Family Economic center at the University of Cincinnati found canned tuna in the Midwest grocery stores is up about 7.3% just in September. Canned green beans up 9.1% over the same period in canned soup. Get a Look at this. 22.3%. That's way above other food prices when you look at the cpi. But not to worry. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant recently told reporters the administration is considering some targeted relief from steel tariffs in instances where U.S. manufacturing capacity and metal supplies are lagging. And while President Trump will be the ultimate decider on that issue, there are signs the administration might be considering some short term relief on tinplane. We're going to hear in a few minutes from one of Secretaries Bess and top aides if he gets off a plane, we're trying to get him off the plane in time. Tonight we also are going to talk to can makers, farmers and lawmakers on how America got into this pickle and a unique solution that could help America thread a needle by getting some short term relief on camp prices while building a whole new template manufacturing, manufacturing industry in America. That's going to be the ultimate solution now that aims to bring prices down short and long term while creating new American jobs so that tariffs can be raised back up to fend off any unfair competition coming from overseas. That's what we're going to focus on tonight. It is truly a dinner table, kitchen table issue and we're going to dive right in right at the beginning show. Amanda will join us in a little bit. But at the top of the show tonight, we've got two industry rep representatives, Scott Green, president of Can Manufacturers Institute, and Robert Gatz, vice president and general manager at CAN Corporation of America. Gentlemen, welcome. Good to have you here.
Scott Green
Thank you, John.
John Solomon
All right. I don't think a lot of people know. They've gone to the grocery store like, hey, wait, that can of peas a little bit more expensive. That can of soup a lot more expensive. They had no idea what's been going on behind the scenes. Let me start with you, Scott. You have seen this play out. There's pressure on farmers, pressures on consumers. It's going to get worse, right?
Scott Green
Yeah. Well, thanks, John, for having us here. And you're right that a lot of people don't think about the metal can and what goes into it. But we are making a lot of metal cans in this country. That's because metal cans have a significant impact on our economy, on national security and on our public health. We make 135 billion metal cans every year in the United States with a B. And every minute we're making a quarter million.
John Solomon
That's amazing.
Scott Green
And those metal cans, a significant portion of them are steel food cans and they're filled with food that people depend on, produce, pet food, infant formula. And just like you said, more and more people are going to the grocery store and they're getting sticker shock as the cost of these canned foods go Up. You heard it like you said last night from the mom from Florida saying she felt uncomfortable as she goes to buy the beans to make chili. And so that is because there's that 50% tariff on steel. And the key input to making steel food cans is tin plate steel, specialized form of steel. Only 1% of steel goes into packaging. And because there's not nearly enough made here, can manufacturers like Robert are forced to import that. There's that added cost and it has to be absorbed elsewhere along the American steel can value chain.
John Solomon
Becomes pretty expensive quickly in that scenario when the tariffs are on them. Robert, when did we start getting out of the business of, I mean, we used to have a supply of it, I think around 2018. Does that sound right?
Robert Gatz
Yeah. So first of all, thank you for having me. You know, before I get to that question, let me just tell you a little bit about Can Corporation of America. So it's a, it's a company that's vertically integrated. We started in 1928 growing mushrooms and we started packaging mushrooms in tin cans in the 1960s. We became vertically integrated by building Can Corporation of America. And it's a privately held third generation company. So, yeah, the overall tin plate sector is, as Scott had mentioned, is we used to have 12 operating lines and this is going back to 2018. And since then, now it's only down to three. So companies like us, we are forced to go outside of our borders, allies like Canada, European Union and other countries as well to secure this very specialized metal template.
John Solomon
What forced so many of the American lines out of business? Was it just the dumping of metal from China and places like that?
Robert Gatz
I think that there's a combination of different things. Lack of investment within the United States, within the tin mill manufacturing sector, and then also unfair competition as well too, over the years.
Scott Green
What I'd like to mention is that American can manufacturers, they're buying all the domestic tin plate steel they can, everything they got. Everything they got, yes. There's just not enough made here. And that's because steel companies, they are taking advantage of what this gift that the Trump administration has given them of the 50% tariff so that they have more opportunity invest, but they're doing it in higher volume products. We have not seen the payoff in tinplate steel. And so in the absence of that payoff, all that's happening is that we're creating added costs that flow through to American can manufacturers, American farmers, and ultimately to the American consumer.
John Solomon
All three get hit. All right, so let's first take a look at the can industry. It is a big employer, like 20, 30,000 jobs. Is that right?
Scott Green
Yeah. Thank you. For 28,000Americans are making those 135 billion metal cans here that I was talking about across 33 states.
John Solomon
Yeah, it's a huge industry. We know when we go to the shopping store, we know there's a lot of cans. Let's ask, I want to ask you about this. The thread the needle strategy for the administration is going to be. They don't want to give foreign makers a break long term because otherwise the unfair practices will come. What will be the impetus to get a true tin industry going here so that the can supply is here? What is that going to take?
Scott Green
Yeah, So I think what we do know is that this 50% tariff is not stimulating investment in domestic tinplate. Haven't seen it since 2018, when President Trump first put it in there. Haven't seen it since the 50%. So what we're saying is let's rethink this approach. Let's modify it so that we do America first across the American value chain so that, yes, we stimulate domestic tinplant investment, but let's also make sure that our American farmers, our American can manufacturers are winning. And then let's make sure that those consumers go to the grocery store, don't have that sticker shock and really deliver a win to the Trump administration on affordability. And they can do it again. This is a specialized product. Only 1% of steel goes into packaging. So we can modify the approach with tinplate and then keep the tariffs exactly where they are for the 99% of steel that goes in under other products.
John Solomon
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, Robert, when you look at a can about that size, tomato paste can or vegetable can, how much has it gone up because of the tariffs? Just that one can. When you, by the time you're going to sell it to the consumer.
Robert Gatz
Yeah, it's gone up tremendously. I mean, if you, if you look at store shelf prices, it may not seem much as far as for. When you're talking about cents, but once you boil that down into how much that actual can costs for the, for the, for the fillers and the processors, it's gone up significantly.
John Solomon
Yeah, it's a real issue. And as long as the tariffs are at this rate, they're going to stay at that level. There's no way the cost has to go somewhere. Right? Yeah. So what happens to farmers? We're going to hear from some farmers in a little bit, but they're going to be asked to Take some of the hit on this. Right. And then consumers take the other part of it.
Robert Gatz
Yeah. Because there's a whole nother aspect to this as well, too, as prices have gone up related to steel, template steel, you know, the overall packaging for that, the processing, and all the way down to the consumer level as those prices have gone up. Now we're starting to see importation of finished, filled canned goods coming from many other countries, in particular China.
John Solomon
Cheaper for them to ship in here because they're going to make it a lot cheaper, right?
Robert Gatz
Absolutely.
Scott Green
And you don't have to pay the 50% tariff on the filled food cans at the moment. So by having this 50% tariff, that it makes it more expensive for US produced and filled cans creates a cost advantage for foreign produced and filled cans, which hurts American farmers, but also hurts our trade deficit.
John Solomon
Yeah.
Robert Gatz
One other point to that as well, too, is that importation of goods, there's a reason for that. But at the same time, we need to really think about the overall security of our food system here in the United States, but also the safety as well, too. Steel can, not many people know this. They see, they see a steel can, they see it on the shelf. It's not that big of a deal. Right. It's steel. Well, it's not as we, you know, tin plate has a lot of properties in it. How you manufacture that can has a lot of properties into a lot of science, a lot of engineering to make sure that shelf stable for a very long time.
John Solomon
Right.
Robert Gatz
So, you know, as things are coming in from overseas, we have no certainty.
Tom McClintock
Right.
Robert Gatz
We really don't know how those foods or vegetables were grown, how they were processed, what vessel they're going into, as far as for the can, what are the property. So safety and food security is huge with this.
Scott Green
And just to pick up something on what Robert said, food security Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristen Adams said food security is national security and Trump voters are concerned about this. We did a survey back in September. 98% of Trump voters said they're concerned about canned food come from other countries. 82% said they're concerned about grocery store prices. And a similar amount said we want to see this template tariff relief so that costs come down.
John Solomon
We don't know what pesticides they use, they don't know what metal and things. And so it not only becomes a food security issue and a, an America first and it is something. But you may have a maha issue here down the right. Right. We don't know. We may not know five or ten years Later. Why are we getting these diseases? Yeah, so there's that maha angle. All right, so let's break down the classic Washington gauntlet because there's two places we got to go, Right. You got to get the administration to do one thing and then you got to get Congress to do the other. We're going to have Senator Ron Johnson here in a second. We're going to tackle that. Let me start with Congress. What do we think Congress can do to stimulate the tin industry and balance this issue short term?
Scott Green
Yeah. So that's the thing. I think we need to have a variety of tools in place to stimulate domestic tin plate production. Right. But then ultimately, we are eager to part with the partner with the Trump administration to have an approach where again, we stimulate domestic tin plate production, but we also make sure that we have strong American can manufacturing, farming and reduced prices for the American consumer.
John Solomon
That makes a lot of sense. All right, what did you guys make? And I'll start with you, Robert. What did you make of Scott Besant's recent comments that we're looking at it, don't know where it will be. It has to be the right target. But he did suggest for the first time since President Trump came back to office that there may be some flexibility on some narrow markets. This looks like one of those narrow markets.
Robert Gatz
Yeah. I think that, you know, threading a needle with this is a big deal. And you know, look, we've been in business for 50 years, Ken Corporation. We're patriots. We're going to celebrate our 50th anniversary this year. On the 250th. On the 250th. So we're very proud of that. But you know, in addition, we want to make sure that we're working very closely with Trump administration. We completely understand. We support balance trade globally. And if there is a way to go ahead and thread this needle related to template targeted tariff relief, all while being able to invest back into the United States to build that capacity back up. As we mentioned at the top of broadcast, there was a point in time 100% of all of our steel tin plate was domestically used for making of cans. And that has eroded away.
John Solomon
Who are our best friends on template short term?
Robert Gatz
Canada, I would say. You know, and it's unfortunate that there's so much tension between the United States and Canada.
John Solomon
But it always works itself out. It always has, at least historically. Who is the toughest actor that we need to be worried about about cheap food coming in from overseas?
Robert Gatz
Definitely China. There's a couple other Countries as well, too. I think the one thing that consumers need to be cautious of is that when you go to the store and you buy a can of food, turn it around, take a look at country of origin, and it's going to be in very, very small prints.
John Solomon
Get your glasses out. Right.
Robert Gatz
And make a conscious decision on exactly where you're buying your food from. And there's still a lot of food that's produced, harvested and packaged in the United States. And we want that to grow, which will help farmers as well, too.
John Solomon
Our farmers want it to grow. I can't wait to get to that conversation with the farmers later in the show. I literally didn't know this issue was going on until just about three months ago. It's so fascinating. And there are always, you know, we have the big policy consequences and a lot of reason to be excited about some of the changes. But sometimes these unintended consequences come in. This seems like one. This is one of them. What do you think the timetable is for Washington to act before this starts to become a real crisis for everyday Americans?
Scott Green
Yeah, I mean, I think you heard it from the mom from Florida yesterday. You know, one of the things, it's already a problem. We think as the tariff continues to flow through, we're going to see increased prices this year in 2026. And ultimately what we want to see is America first across the American value chain. Yes, we share the goal with the Trump administration of more domestic tin plate production. But we think we can have winning there as well as win with our to make sure American can manufacturers and farmers stay strong as well as again, those prices stay low. And like the Mount Florida State yesterday, she has hope and faith that the Trump, President Trump will hear her. We share that and we have faith and believe that President Trump will hear that and deliver more targeted tariff relief for tinplate to help can manufacturers, farmers and consumers in America.
John Solomon
If there's someone sitting, they just got off the assembly line or just brought the kids home from school, what can they do at home to help on this?
Scott Green
Yeah, I think, well, they can always tell their representative senator that they want to see this kind of tariff relief. But also like Robert was saying, look at the can, it does tell you where the food is coming from. And buy those American made and filled cans. It helps our economy. And you can we have a stellar safety and record and high quality and you can trust those cans if they're made in America.
John Solomon
It's such a great conversation, one that we haven't had. I was so shocked, but I'M glad we're having it tonight. I think it's going to change some minds and hearts and certainly educate people. Scott, Robert, really great to have you here today. Thanks for making this whole show possible. We're going to have a lot more fun as the day goes on. A lot more conversations.
Robert Gatz
Thank you.
John Solomon
Thanks, guys. All right, guys, we're going to quick commercial break when we come back. You like him. Every time he comes on, we call him Ron Johnson. Ron Johnson coming up next. By the way, his state of Wisconsin, one of the big manufacturing locations for cans in America. We'll be talking to him all about this next right after the commercial break. Hey, folks, President Trump recently nominated Kevin Marsh to lead the Federal Reserve. For most people, it was just another political headline, but it deserves a closer look. Wash has been one of the most prominent voices in favor of a US Central bank digital currency. You heard me right. A system where your dollars exist only as a code, not cash and not private. A digital dollar could give the government the ability to monitor every transaction make, maybe even block it, freeze your account with no warning, restrict what you buy, even deduct taxes automatically with no due process. These tools already exist in other countries and once this kind of infrastructure is built right here in America, you it's rarely limited to its original purpose. That's why I partnered with American Alternative Assets to offer you a free report called the Digital Dollar Trap. It's a must read. It explains what's happening behind the scenes, why this nomination matters, and how physical assets like gold could help protect your savings from Centralized Control. Visit johnlikesgold.com that's johnlikesgold.com to download your free copy. Or you can call 855-GOLD-340 to request one by mail one more time. John likes gold.com or 855-GOLD-340.
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Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures I
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need to be healthy every day to
Host 1
survive it and go to the next chemo round and the next chemo round.
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So it's important that work was part
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of that to keep my mind busy for eight, nine hours and then I had to go back and face the reality. I had a goal and the goal is to survive.
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Start the year right.
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John Solomon
Welcome back America. We're going to stay on a very important topic. It's something that is maybe arcane when you first started, but it gets right down to the dinner table. The way we make our canned foods and the cans that we put that food in is having a profound effect on prices right now.
Senator Ron Johnson
Why?
John Solomon
Because for years of neglect, we didn't make tin can or the tin plate that is made in printing cans in America. We lost our monopoly. We're dependent overseas now with tariffs. We need to rebuild that industry. Joining us right now, somebody who's been at the center of a lot of the America first movement in the Senate and a great ally of President Trump. He represents the great state of Wisconsin, Senator Ron Johnson. Senator, great to have you on the show.
Senator Ron Johnson
Well guys, hope you're doing well.
John Solomon
Yeah, great to have you on. We are in the State of the Union. President Trump doubled down on his tariffs. There's enormous evidence that they're beginning to have a profound effect reshaping the global economy to Americans advantage. Every so often a tariff runs into an, you know, harsh reality in America. One of those is that we have tin plate and a lot of need for it. It because we make a lot of canned foods, but America only makes 1% of the template raw materials here. So when these new tariffs kicked in last summer, they've been putting some price on can price pressures on canned foods. Treasury now looking at it and saying they might bring some relief to that. Could you just walk us through what you know and how sometimes being flexible and these things create better opportunities for the American public?
Senator Ron Johnson
Well, when it comes to basic materials like tin plate, like steel, like pharmaceutical drugs, like high end semiconductors, it's good that America should be able to supply a good percentage of our needs. And unfortunately in a lot of these strategic products, we don't now the exact calculus in terms of once we reassure that how beneficial that's going to be price wise is somewhat unknown. Prices might have increased because of the tariffs. Foreign suppliers bore some of those costs. Some of the steel prices, for example. I mean, China has just destroyed in many cases by overcapacity of steel steel markets which have kept prices unbelievably low, bankrupting a lot of steel interests around the world. So again, their communist planning has destroyed kind of free market pricing and free market competition in the steel industry and other industries as well. And that's what makes it so incredibly complex when you start talking about trade and people who abuse trade and don't have market economies that rely on real price signals as opposed to central planning. So it's very difficult to predict when it comes to affordability. From my standpoint, I think that the most significant thing that the administration is doing is they're addressing energy costs. A lot of people maybe don't realize it, but the cost of energy impacts just about the price of every good you have to transport things. And so President Trump's his focus on drill baby, drill, freeing up and making a natural gas available and quite honestly, our new partner in Venezuela with sourcing oils from Venezuela now, all these things will have a very positive impact in terms of restraining prices, which we've already come a long way. I mean, president announced that the last couple of months of this year we're down to almost where he left inflation, 1.4. We're down to about 1.7%. The problem the administration has is that across the board, the Biden administration, Democrats left such enormous messes. You know, the strife around the world, the wars raging, the open borders flooding, millions of people in here, 650,000 people convicted of crimes at large, 15,000 murders, 20,000 people convicted of sexual assault. And then the hangover, 40 year inflation, we devalued our currency. The dollar you held at the start of the pandemic is now worth 80 cents. That doesn't get repaired. What you have to do is restrain the further growth in prices and some of those commodity prices like gasoline, I mean, I haven't seen in Wisconsin, our gas price is still well over $2 a gallon. But I mean, some places under $2 a gallon, I mean, that is significant progress and we'll feel that throughout the economy because gasoline, diesel prices, all that impacts the transportation of goods and part of the cost.
John Solomon
That's a great point.
Host 1
And Senator, I also wonder if there's an element of this, of it all coming out in the wash, because as you talked about, especially under the Biden administration when gas prices were so high, that was increasing the cost of things. And I understand there's a cost associated with repatriating, with onshoring, reshoring companies to the United States. And so you might have a can of tomato soup that costs maybe 10, 12 cents more, but you're also creating more jobs. So there's kind of, you know, kind of evens out, doesn't it?
Senator Ron Johnson
Sure. And you go, there's transportation costs. You're shipping something from China on a boat. I mean, it's a cheap way of shipping, but still costs money. The other two big impacts in terms of affordability, first of all, deregulation. When businesses aren't having to spend a lot of money just complying with duplicative regulation or overregulation, that also restrains the cost. And then the tax cuts. I'm starting to hear from constituents. One very hardworking individual that texts me all the time, just complete his taxes. I mean, this guy's a hard worker, so obviously he's working overtime. He gets tips driving Uber. He last year paid over $1,500 in taxes. This year, he's gonna get a $446 refund. That's a $2,000 swing. And as more people start completing their tax reforms because we didn't change the withholding tables. And so when people complete their taxes, they're gonna find out they don't owe as much or they maybe get a refund this year, that, that will come as a surprise. I think many, many people.
John Solomon
Yeah, it really is. I think people are beginning to wake that up. I just heard some guy that just got his tax account I was like, I got like 50% more back this year. And he was like really, really impressed by it. I want to talk about a figure that the president used in the State of the union address. 70,000 new manufacturing jobs. That's been a challenge to create new jobs in the manufacturing sector There feels like there's the beginning of a manufacturing renaissance in America in the Rust Belt. In other places around the country that are near supply chains, tin cans is one of those places that probably will see growth if we get this sort of balanced out. Right. The steel industry feels like it's making a little bit of a comeback. And then the downstreamers like the Canters and others. Is this an opportunity for more jobs when we balance this all out?
Senator Ron Johnson
Well, you realize I come from a manufacturing background. For the last 20 or 30 years we couldn't hire enough people partly because we tell all of our kids got to get a four year degree, so they're not even interested in manufacturing jobs. But there are great jobs in manufacturing, there are great jobs in the trades, that type of thing. We just need more of our young people to realize that yeah, if you want a four year degree, great. But technical college or just going to the workforce is a pretty good way of going as well. So just like in ag culture, 100 years ago, probably more than half of Americans were involved in farming. Now it's single digits. That's not a bad thing. We've become more productive. Same things happen in manufacturing. We've become more and more productive. As a matter of fact, people are concerned about AI might be replacing a lot of white collar jobs. So again, that's, that's all part of the way an economy becomes more efficient and evolves. Now there's dislocations, no doubt about it. But we continue to produce year after year. We produce more goods, we do it with less labor. That's called productivity. That also restrains prices. So again, it takes time to realign our economy. But what we really need is to educate our young people, make sure they have all their options. Coming out of high school, going to the workforce, technical colleges, four year degrees. My big advice is do not get heavily into student loan debt and make sure you get whatever degree, it's a useful degree, you find employment that you can make, make a good living off of it. Rather than a lot of these degrees that our universities are pushing that employers have no value. So they get 100, 200, $300,000 in student loan debt and they never dig themselves out of it.
Host 1
Yeah, folks like you and President Trump have done a great job at destigmatizing those trade jobs. Especially President Trump with his, his construction background. Sir, I want to ask you about, I know you're not up for reelection, but as you talk to other folks in which Wisconsin affordability, the economy of course is going to be number one on folks minds. But President Trump did a great job last night laying out and cataloging his administration successes over the last 13 months. For your Republican colleagues on the Senate side who are fighting for their life, what's the most important thing they need to be talking to voters about?
Senator Ron Johnson
Affordability is that issue. But again, understand the realignment that President Trump has completed within the Republican Party. We are now the party of the working men and women of this country. And I'm proud of that fact and the fact that, you know, our tax cut, the working family tax cuts, it was targeted at the people who get tips, who get overtime as seniors, that struggle sometimes because having to adequately save for retirement. So President Trump is focusing like a laser on the people that build this country, the people that work for the benefit of all Americans. So he is focused on that. Plus he's a visionary, he's optimistic. I mean, I thought that was a great speech last night. I was looking forward to almost two hour speech, trust me. But that was a really fun time being in that chamber. I did not get bored. I thought President Trump did a great job of just laying bare the cravenness of the Democrats, of their ideology, of their policies and stuff. But celebrating America and American heroes, it was a great evening. But I want a president that is optimistic, that has the vision for not only is this a great country, you know, recognizing it and loving this country, but recognizing we can make it so much greater.
John Solomon
Yeah, there's no doubt. Sir, before we let you go real quickly in the follow to the State of the Union, the Democrats put their fresh face up. Former Congressman Spamberger, now the governor of Virginia, she gave a whole speech on affordability, but she's the lady that wants to raise taxes by historic amounts in Virginia. Are Democrats that disconnected that they don't even know what their own people are doing?
Senator Ron Johnson
Yes. Again, I like most Americans didn't watch it. I'm not gonna watch it.
John Solomon
I bet you're right.
Senator Ron Johnson
But let's face it, Democrats run their wolves in sheep's clothing. They try and moderate, but they're basically all bunch of radical leftists that want open borders, that want more power, more control, more taxes, larger government. That doesn't work. I hope that more and more Americans are wising up and just do not believe Democrats because they will not tell you the truth about who they are and what their policies are going to be.
John Solomon
Yeah, I think the president laid down that gauntlet pretty clicky that there were patriots and hatreds in the room last night and you could tell who they were based on their conduct. Senator, it's always a great honor to have your show. We always love your insights and all the great work you're doing in the Senate. Thanks for joining us every day. Yeah. Thank you so much, sir. All right, folks, more on this really important issue of tin plate and tariffs and what the future of our economy holds. We'll have more right after the break.
Host 1
Welcome back, everybody. We are going to stay on this issue of the can crisis in this country because as you've heard, it affects everybody, down from the suppliers, the manufacturers of those cans, through the supply chain all the way to the farmers. And there's a beautiful little portion of California just north of Fresno and it is the Central Valley of California. And they produce everything from almonds and citrus and garlic and yes, of course, canned goods as well. So we're going to bring in someone who represents the people of that area of California. In fact, California's 5th congressional district, Tom McClintock. Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.
Tom McClintock
Well, thanks for having me.
Host 1
Absolutely, sir. You know, I think of farmers in California and heavens to Betsy, they have enough problems that they are dealing with with water rights and trying to get enough water to irrigate their crops being taxed out the Yahoo or out the Wazoo. Well, in Yahoo, too. This is not something that they need to be herding from as well. And yet we are seeing it across the country. We spoke to some other farmers. We've got them coming on tonight. It is really hitting farmers hard.
Tom McClintock
Yeah, well, you know, Reagan was right. Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem. And that's true of so much of what we're talking about. That all adds up to affordability. When something is scarce, it becomes expensive. When it's plentiful, it's cheap. What government has done is turned abundance into scarcity in so many different fields. One of them is obviously water. We live in one of the most water rich regions of the country and yet we stopped building the facilities to store surplus water in wet years. So we had plenty in dry years. Now most of that water goes out the Pacific Ocean and we're dealing with chronic water crises despite very high volumes of precipitation this year. And in the last several years for that matter. And you look at so many of the other things you mentioned of tin cans. The regulatory cost that government has placed on manufacturing in this country is the source of these problems. It's not foreign competition. We can compete very effectively against foreign competition. We can't compete against our own self inflicted wounds by piling regulations upon taxes upon more regulations that make things very scarce and therefore very expensive for the manufacturers as well as for their, for their customers. You know, about 15, almost 20 years ago now, I remember having a conversation with a Chinese businessman in Los Angeles. We were talking about the explosive growth of the Chinese economy and how the American economy at the time under Obama was stagnating. And his response was, well, you Americans, you have an import export problem. And I said, what do you mean by that? He says, well, for the last 20 years you've been importing socialism and exporting capitalism. The nice thing about this administration is we're starting to import capitalism again. We're reducing the tax and regulatory burdens that are crushing American enterprise and American families. And I think that the big beautiful bill that we enacted last year is now working its way through the economy. We're seeing it as real wages starting to rise again. We're seeing inflation abate, we're seeing the labor participation rate starting to inch forward again. Of people are telling us it hasn't reached their own lives yet, but I think it's a matter of just a few months before it does. As they start filling out their tax forms, as they start adjusting and they're withholding, I think the American people are going to start breathing a big sigh of relief and we will have that golden era that President Trump promised.
John Solomon
Yeah, it's starting to hit. The conversation at the dinner table is now definitely turning to hey, I just got a better tax return or I didn't have to pay tax on tips. And it's, it's definitely coming. Mortgage rates today for the first time below 6% since 2022. That's a big win. I want to turn back to something you said, that we regulated some of our industries out of competitiveness and we had some of the tin can manufacturers at top of the show. We used to have 18 lines of tin can manufacturers or tin plate manufacturers so that the tin can makers can make it. And they've gone down to three just since 2018. How do we rebuild an industry like that?
Tom McClintock
Get off their backs, reduce the regulatory burdens that have been crushing these businesses? I mean, California is a prime example of that. I mean, look at what We've done to our petroleum industry. Twenty years, 30 years ago, we were the second largest producer petroleum in the country. We had 40 refineries operating throughout the state. Rate, we're down to seven now, with economists predicting $8 a gallon gasoline in California by the summer if this trend continues. Meanwhile, prices nationally because of the Trump economic policies are coming down. It's no coincidence that the 10 most affordable states in the country are all Republican strongholds. And the 10 least affordable states in the country are all run by the Democrats. And California is the worst of them.
Host 1
Speaking of California and heavy regulations, but also natural beauty, you've been speaking out about Yosemite and the reservation issues that they have been having. Listen, I know we're barely. We're not even into spring yet, but people are going to start planning their vacations. And Yosemite, of course, is a major, major hot spot target for a lot of Americans. Talk to us about what happened at Yosemite and what prompted it.
Tom McClintock
Well, the radical left for years has been trying to reduce visitation at Yosemite Valley. These are elitists. They believe that Yosemite Valley is the prettiest when they're the only people there. And so they've been imposing all sorts of restrictions. And one of them was this reservation system, which was devastating to the gateway communities that I represent that depend upon tourism for so much of their business. The hassles that people were encountering in trying to reserve slots to get into the People's national park of Yosemite was keeping people away. We have a new superintendent there now who believes that our public lands should be enjoyed by the public, a fellow named Ray McPad. And I can't say enough good things about him. He was instrumental in scrapping the reservation system. So if you want to come to Yosemite Valley, come. And at the same time, he's been working overtime to reduce the congestion that was deliberately created with the traffic circulation patterns as well as the long waits at the gates. Again, I think a deliberate strategy to try to keep people away. Well, Yosemite is again open to the American people, which was John Muir's vision. There's a wonderful passage from his. From his diaries where he's looking down on the valley and he says, the valley is filled with people, yet they do not annoy me because they would. They might come as tourists, but they leave as evangelists. That process is now, is being reopened by the. By this administration and by the new superintendent there. So come one, come all. It is the most beautiful part of the World, planet and everybody should see it at least once in their lifetimes.
Host 1
I agree.
John Solomon
Before we let you go, Secretary Besant, Treasury Secretary Bessant said last week that he's looking at the possibility of easing maybe some very narrow parts of the steel. Tariffs protect the steel industry. But where there's a couple issues like tin plate, where we don't have any tin plate in the United States, as to almost all be barton above from a foreign source, that we might give some temporary relief until we get our tin plate manufacturing back here. Do you think that would have some support in Congress until we get that industry up and roaring again?
Tom McClintock
I certainly have my support. Again, tariffs come with a steep price. Tariffs create scarcity from abundance. Tariffs raise the price of whatever product they're being applied to. It's not entirely paid by consumers, but it's largely paid by them. And the fact of the matter is every producer is also a consumer. Every consumer is also a producer. No producer has ever been benefited by scarcer resources. No consumer has ever been benefited by higher prices. That's what tariffs accomplish. We see the 140,000 steel jobs that are protected by tariffs. What we don't see is clearly are the 5 to 6 million American manufacturing jobs that depend upon steel for their products and everything from cans to cars. Bastiat, writing almost 200 years ago, made this very point. You have to take into account not only what you see, but also what you don't see. And what we don't see is the effect this is having on manufacturing across the country that uses and depends upon steel in their products. The more abundant the steel, the lower the price. The lower the price, the better for everybody.
John Solomon
Absolutely.
Host 1
Congressman, representing the 5th district of the great state of California, thanks so much for being with us tonight, sir.
Tom McClintock
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Host 1
Absolutely. All right, everybody stick around because joining us on the other side we've got got two farmers, Paul Canning and Glenn Abbott, who are going to join us to talk about the 10 plate steel tariffs and how they impact them as farmers.
Paul Canning
I'm Paul Canning and I farm in Montana. Work in the same ground that my family homesteaded over a century ago. Out here we grow pulse crops, beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. I'm sure you've eaten them, but you may not realize how healthy they are. In fact, they're so high in protein and fiber that the latest dietary guidelines say we should be eating a lot more of them. They're truly an American first crop. They're great for soil health and they've Been a key economic driver in many small rural towns all across America where they get prepared and packaged.
Glenn Abbott
My name is Glenn Abbott. I'm an owner of a multi generation family farm located in northwest Indiana. My dad started this farm in the 1960s and we have been growing ever since, diversifying our operation, raising corn, soybeans, seed corn, and tomatoes for an American tomato canning company called Red Bull. Adding tomatoes to our farm was a turning point which created opportunities for generations to come. We believe in American manufacturing. We believe in putting America first.
Host 1
All right, everybody, welcome back. Welcome. While there is still a lot to address, the administration is making significant progress on its ambitious journey to bring the steel industry back home. So let's explore some innovative strategies that can help pave the way for this endeavor. Joining us now is Paul Canning, a farmer from Montana who you just saw in that video, and also Glenn Abbott in that video, a farmer from Indiana. Paul and Glenn, thanks so much for being with us.
Paul Canning
Thanks for having us.
Host 1
Yeah, I love the generational stories that you both have. Paul, I'll start with you. It takes something for a generational farm to survive, and that is innovation, considering the current climate that we are dealing with with steel. Paul, how has your family had to innovate?
Paul Canning
Yeah, well, thanks. We've been here for a century feeding American families through depressions and wars and natural disasters and everything in between. And so one way we've innovated is incorporating things like pulse crops and, and they've really been a great economic boom for us recently until the recent tariffs came along on the steel can. So, look, without that steel can, my crops are useless if they have to stay in the field. And that can is the bridge, my farm, and the American pantry. And when that bridge becomes too expensive, then farmers lose, American consumers lose, and grocery bills get too high. And it's just as simple as that. And so we look for alternative markets rather than feeding American families. And obviously, we want to feed American families first.
John Solomon
Big choice. Ben, real quick, I want to ask a little bit. I think everybody thinks, all right, well, if the tin plate went up and the cost went up because of tariffs, well, that's just going to get passed down to the consumers. But those big distributors, they put pressure on the farmer to take part of the loss too, don't they?
Glenn Abbott
Yep, they sure do. Unfortunately, the farmer is kind of the end user and therefore, we kind of get stuck with the added cost. And, and unfortunately, the added cost puts us out of reach for global competition, which we, we really, truly can't be in that situation. Sat recently with the owner of Red Gold and he described how companies across the seas could put the a crop, some of ours into can and ship it here cheaper than we can put it in the can liter markets away. So we've got to find, we got to find a solution for this. We need to find it fast because Red Gold, the great American company is not going to be able to survive if they have to buy cans that are more expensive than our competition across the ocean.
Host 1
Absolutely. Glenn, I want to stay on you for a moment. If you sat before President Trump and said this is the one thing you can do to help us out, what would that be?
Glenn Abbott
Yeah, I believe the one thing that we could do is have tariff reform. I'm not against tariffs completely. I think they have a place in this country. I think they've done some great things in certain industries. But this is an unintended consequence. They did not intend to put a company like Red Gold and therefore the farmer who grows for Red Gold in a pinch where they can't compete. And so I think some reform is what's needed. And if we could get that reform where we could compete, I think we would deliver to the consumer the best food in a can that, that they can have grown right here in the
John Solomon
United States for that. We love that. Before we let you go right now, what's the approximate percentage of growth in costs that these tariffs are cutting? When you can, good price goes up. We've seen some studies. It looks like anywhere from 7 to 22%. What are you seeing on your side of the equation?
Paul Canning
Yeah, absolutely. So what we're seeing in the, at the farm is things like Pulse crops are 15 year lows right now on prices because we're unable to distribute these through these, through these cans that we need. So 15 year lows, we're half, we're getting half the amount for our crop that we got a year ago. And it just doesn't make sense. You know, Glenn's absolutely right. President Trump has shown he's bold. He's bold enough to use tariffs to support America and he could make a great bold move right now that will really help farmers, help American consumers and drop grocery bills. It's a total knockout for his agenda.
Host 1
Certainly sounds like it. Paul Canning and Glenn Abbott, thank you so much for what you do to feed our country.
Paul Canning
Thanks for having us.
Host 1
Absolutely. All right, everybody, that's going to do it for us tonight. We will be back again tomorrow night at 6pm Eastern. Have a good one. Welcome back everybody. To borrow a line from Poltergeist. We're back. John, Something that is just as scary, actually, and something we were talking about with some of our guests tonight. They brought up our industry guests at the beginning of the show brought up the national security crisis and the food security crisis, which you typically think about with respect to Americans not having what they need to stay nourished. But also they were talking about the security of those cans coming over from China. And goodness knows we have enough botulinum toxin in this country in the form of Botox without having to import it in tin cans.
John Solomon
Tin cans or you know, the pesticides that are used in countries that aren't the same. The quality that we have here we saw with China on some of the marijuana pesticides that are now seeping into serious health issues for people. There's just a lot of different elements to say. And you know, it's a little issue that actually has a big consequence. And what I was really first we got a great education from the industry and the farmers who were amazing. I mean, who knew that this opened the door for cheaper food to come in from overseas. But the optimism that Tom McClintock had, that Ron Johnson had, that the administration will get this right. We were going to try to get the treasury secretary's top adviser on this. He gets stuck in a plane, but he's texting us now. He's going to try to come on next week and we'll try to pin him down. But I bet you the administration gets this fixed just right, which is short term relief. Build that tin plate industry, get more jobs in the country and then go back and put the protection back. And I suspect that that's where we'll go. In the meantime, I also picked up in both of our political lawmakers interviews a real strong optimism that the economy is starting to go snap to you. And we mentioned one of the questions, but it deserves being called out a little bit more. For the first time since 2022, mortgage rates below 6%. That means more than a one and a half percent decrease since the height of Joe Biden's era. That's what happens. He brings spending down, bring inflation down. That's one of seven or eight factors I think this summer all hit at once and those statistics start to mean something at the dinner table. I think we're heading into that moment now. Yeah.
Host 1
And look, I understand there are a lot of Americans out there, a lot of our viewers out there have expressed that this, that Republicans leading into the beginning of this year in November and December, a year out from midterms. I heard from a lot of viewers who said Republicans don't seem like they have a sense of urgency. They don't seem worried enough about midterms. And maybe that's why. Maybe because they knew. I mean, we all knew what was in. Well, most of us knew what was in the legislation of the one big beautiful bill. And we knew that that stuff would come to fruition. But I think you're right. I think that a lot of that is going to start being truly felt. But going back to the can thing, I think that for me, just as a consumer, you know, buying cans for chili or taco soup or whatever the case, you don't think about where these cans come from. It was news to me until a few days ago when we started talking about this special that they're not even tin cans really. I mean, they're steel with that tin coating. And I looked into the science behind that tin coating and I think it was. I think maybe it was Robert who was talking about this. He was talking about all the technology that's in it as not an antibacterial, but basically it resists bacteria and it's like.0008 millimeters thick. So it's just enough to protect that food from the outside elements. And it really is amazing. You don't think about all the science that goes into our ag industry, but it's remarkable.
John Solomon
American inn and American jobs. 20, 30,000 jobs. And if the tin plate industry came back, Instead of having three lines, you'd go back to 12 or 18 lines. There's a lot of jobs. Yeah, that was a fun conversation today. I do think Republicans still should have some urgency. I think on the economic issues, they don't. Election security, accountability, like what we heard from. You know, look at what happened to Cash Patel and Suzy Wiles yesterday when we broke that story. And then at the end of the day, cutting government, those three things are going to make the economy better, but it's also going to make the base happier. And I think actually people in middle America independence are going to be happier to see that those things get done. That's the urgency they hit. Those three things. They're going to have a fine November. They don't be tougher.
Host 1
I think what is in the the front view for a lot of people right now is the Save America Act. And I think for most Americans, because they are so busy in their own lives and they have much more important things to worry about. I don't know if they always separate what has happened in the House versus what's happening in the Senate. So I think for them, you think about an issue that has 85% majority overall, you know, 82% and then 76% and other racial demographics, support for the measures in that bill. And a lot of people are thinking, why haven't they done this? Yeah.
John Solomon
Very few things are that popular.
Robert Gatz
Yeah.
Host 1
Absolutely. All right. Yeah. Okay. For real this time. This is the end of our show, but we will be back. We will be back tomorrow, though. Have a great night. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
This episode delivers a deep-dive investigation into the ramifications of recent steel tariffs—specifically as they relate to tin plate, a specialized steel necessary for canned food packaging. Host John Solomon, with guests from the can manufacturing and farming sectors, as well as lawmakers, elucidates the effects of tariff hikes on domestic production, consumer prices, food security, and American jobs. The show also explores possible solutions involving targeted tariff relief and revitalizing American tin plate production.
[02:31–06:14]
Intro by John Solomon:
Statistics:
Guests:
[05:55–13:26]
US produces 135 billion cans/year, employing about 28,000 Americans.
Tin plate steel represents only 1% of total steel usage but is crucial for food safety and security.
“A lot of people don’t think about the metal can and what goes into it... But we are making a lot of metal cans in this country.” – Scott Green (06:14)
Loss of domestic supply:
Tariffs aren’t stimulating tinplate investment:
Can manufacturers forced to import tin plate, raising costs.
Increase in imports of finished canned goods from countries like China, hurting US farmers and raising food security concerns.
“Steel can… has a lot of properties in it... a lot of science, a lot of engineering... as things are coming in from overseas, we have no certainty.” – Robert Gatz (12:11)
Consumers are urged to check country-of-origin labels on cans.
[22:02–32:54]
Senator Johnson highlights strategic importance of domestic supply in tin plate, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.
Cautions on Chinese market distortions: “China has just destroyed in many cases by overcapacity of steel… their communist planning has destroyed kind of free market pricing.” (23:33)
Argues for flexibility in tariffs where US capacity doesn’t exist.
Manufacturing Renaissance:
On party alignment:
Guests:
[43:20–48:52]
Farms are generational enterprises facing economic stress.
“That can is the bridge my farm and the American pantry. And when that bridge becomes too expensive, then farmers lose, American consumers lose.” – Paul Canning (45:06)
Tariffs mean:
Call to Action:
[34:06–42:55]
Frames the issue as part of a wider crisis: “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem.”
Blames high regulatory costs and taxation for driving industries (including tin plate) offshore.
“We can compete very effectively against foreign competition. We can't compete against our own self-inflicted wounds by piling regulations upon taxes upon more regulations.” (34:34)
Advocates for slashing regulations and targeted/timed tariff relief:
Highlights positive economic trends due to administration’s past reforms: rising real wages, increasing labor participation, and improved inflation.
[49:54–52:46]
| Timestamp | Segment | Key Points | |---------------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:31 | Show Introduction | Why tin plate matters to consumers and the US economy | | 05:55 | Can Manufacturing Industry | Tariff impacts, job data, industry struggles, solutions | | 13:02 | Food Security and Safety | National security concerns with foreign canned goods | | 22:02 | Political / Legislative Discussion | Sen. Ron Johnson: US manufacturing, tariffs, job growth, and affordability | | 34:06 | California Farmer’s/Food Perspective | Rep. McClintock on regulation, tariffs, American competitiveness | | 43:20 | Farmer Roundtable | How tariffs impact farmer income, generational viability, and market competition | | 49:54 | National Security Wrap-Up | Risks of foreign-supplied cans and optimism for policy solutions | | 52:46 | End of Episode Themes | Urgency for economic and food security reforms, hope for domestic industry resurgence |
The episode weaves together expert insights, personal stories, and legislative perspectives to illuminate a deceptively simple issue: the future of America’s canned food is tied to steel tariffs, global supply chains, and manufacturing resilience. The consensus among guests and hosts is that smart, targeted policy can address immediate problems while laying the groundwork for American industry and food security in the years to come.